The nights may be getting darker, but if you’re finding it harder to nod off, you’re not the only one. However, choosing the best time to go to sleep for your lifestyle (and wakeup call) can make a huge difference, according to a sleep calculator from blinds company, Hillarys, which maps out the best time to head to bed based on when you need to wake up.
If you favour quantity over quality, you may be going about your sleep routine all wrong. Just because you’ve been asleep for longer, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll feel better rested. The calculator works by assessing the body’s natural sleep rhythm, which works in 90 minute cycles. Therefore less sleep, that maps more closely with those cycles, can benefit you more than a long stretch that’s out of sync with what your body needs. Confusing right?
“Getting a good night’s sleep is about more than simply going to bed early – it’s about waking up at the right time too. Using a formula based on the body’s natural rhythms, the Sleep Calculator will work out the best time for you to rise or go to sleep,” the website says. Specifically, the calculator looks at what time you need to wake up, then works back from there. “And that means you can look forward to feeling fresh and alert … every morning,” the website adds.
The calculator works on the principle that everyone sleeps in about five or six cycles, plus it takes into consideration that, on average, it takes 14 minutes to fall asleep after getting into bed. Waking up midway through a cycle can leave you feeling tired and grouchy the next day. The idea is to wake up in between cycles and feel refreshed in the morning.
So, according to the new calculator, here is the best time to go to sleep, depending on when you need to get up…
If you need to get up at 7am…
You need to go to bed at either 9.46pm or 11.16pm. If you won’t make these times, then 12.46am and 2.16am will also work.
If you need to get up at 8am…
You need to get into bed at 10.46pm, 12.16am, 1.46am or 3.16am.
If you need to get up at 6am…
You need to go to bed at either 8.46pm, 10.16pm or even 11.46pm or if you’re out late then 1.16am.
Try it tonight and see if you wake up feeling bionic tomorrow. We’ll be doing the same.
Click here to calculate your sleep time.